Kerala Climate Resilient Agri- Value Chain Modernization (KERA) Project

The objective of the Kerala Climate Resilient Agri-Value Chain Modernization (KERA) Project is to promote the resilience and commercialization of Kerala’s food and agriculture sector. There are five components to the project, the first component being climate resilience in agriculture. This component focuses on strengthening the agricultural production base in the face of CC across all 14 districts in Kerala and piloting mechanisms for encouraging farmers to enable reductions in emissions through low carbon rice. This component includes two subcomponents: scale-up adoption of CRA practices and supporting low carbon paddy production. The second component is the enhancing small-holder commercialization for value addition. This component augments the commercialization of market-based agricultural production systems by investing in market linkages and promoting climate smart value addition. This component includes three subcomponents: the first subcomponent provides support to generate up to 150 productive alliances (PAs) between farmers (or farmer groups, especially FPCs) and agribusinesses, the second subcomponent will support the replanting of certified climate resilient varieties of coffee, cardamom and rubber in a total of 8 districts, with the on-farm investment costs largely leveraged from the financial sector via a partial credit guarantee (PCG). Finally, subcomponent the third subcomponent will develop context-specific measures to address land-related issues in Kerala. The third component is the strengthening agribusiness and the food system. The fourth component is the project management. Finally, the fifth component is the contingent emergency response component